Sexy Lexus LC and its V8 living on borrowed time, but no end date set for Australia

The Lexus LC grand tourer has been axed in the US market, but for now there’s no word on its future in Australia.

“We are unable to comment on media speculation,” said a Lexus Australia spokesperson when asked about the LC’s discontinuation in the Japanese luxury brand’s biggest market globally.

A leaked dealer bulletin in the US revealed the LC’s discontinuation, reading: “Lexus announces that model year 2026 will be the final year of production for the LC500 and LC500 Convertible.”

“We expect to continue production until the end of August 2026,” it continued.

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“The Lexus LC500 will officially be discontinued after the 2026 model year. Lexus constantly evaluates its model mix and strategy to optimize product lineup options to meet our guests’ needs and align with consumer demand,” a Lexus spokesperson subsequently told US publication Road & Track.

The hybrid V6-powered LC500h coupe had already been retired in the US, leaving the naturally aspirated V8-powered LC500 coupe and convertible.

The LS limousine was also officially announced for discontinuation in the US in September 2025, with no local confirmation of its demise.

Both models are no longer offered in the UK and South Africa, two other right-hand drive markets, though they live on in Japan and New Zealand for now.

However, it would be unlikely for the LS and LC to continue on for much longer given the importance of the US market, and the fact both have been in production since 2017 and are therefore at the end of their life cycles.

Japanese media has previously reported the LC would end production in 2026, while Lexus revealed a special Pinnacle edition last year – not long after it closed out the V8-powered IS500 sedan’s run with a special Climax edition.

The LC is now the last production vehicle using the 2UR-GSE 5.0-litre V8, following the axing of the IS500.

There’s been no word of Lexus doing as it did with the rest of the IS range – giving it a modest facelift to squeeze a few more years out of it – and Lexus notably has never facelifted the sultry LC, which closely resembles the 2012 LF-LC concept that previewed it.

Lexus Australia delivered 54 LCs last year, actually besting the LS (13) and the RZ mid-size electric SUV (41).

Should the LS and LC be retired in Australia, that will leave Lexus with just one passenger model – the ES sedan – as the IS sedan was discontinued here in 2021 alongside the RC coupe, which has subsequently exited production.

Late last year, Lexus previewed a new halo model: an electric supercar dusting off the iconic LFA nameplate. However, previous reports in Japanese media have indicated there’ll be another coupe to slot in under the production LFA, replacing both the RC and LC.

Lexus has changed strategies with its flagship grand tourer offering before. Its first was the SC300/SC400 – a rebadged Toyota Soarer never sold here – which was more affordable than the LS and shared components with the Toyota Supra.

Produced from 1991 to 2000, it was replaced by the SC430 which was an even more comfort-focused model offered exclusively as a folding hardtop convertible. This exited production in 2010, leaving a gap of seven years before the LC entered production.

The ne plus ultra of Lexus vehicles was the LFA, a V10-powered supercar produced between 2010 and 2012.

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